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A day in the life of Sian

I'm responsible for helping some of the Group Centre functions manage their budgets. Functions I work with include Strategy & Planning, Corporate Affairs and Human Resources, and they're all based in our London headquarters. I help them adhere to rigorous financial controls and formulate their financial plans and forecasts.

Name
Sian

Barclays is a huge organisation but I still feel like I’m making a difference and that my work is recognised and rewarded.

Role
Finance Business Partner

Works in
Barclays Group Centre

Location
London, UK

My working day

I work within the Finance department at Barclays Group Centre in Canary Wharf, London, and manage a team of three people. I work closely with business leaders in the functions I’m responsible for to support them with decision-making and financial planning.

In the morning, 09:00 to 11:00
I tend to start the day reviewing any emails that have come in towards the end of the previous day. I’ll go through my messages and either deal with all the queries myself or forward some to my team of analysts. I’ll also prepare for the meetings I’ve got scheduled in for the day ahead.

Around lunch, 11:00 to 14:00
In the morning I’ll often have one-to-one chats with my team, talking through the work they’re dealing with and checking they’ve got all the support they need. I’ll also meet with stakeholders from the functions I work with to assess the potential impact of any new developments that might affect their budgets.

Early afternoon, 14:00 to 17:00
By this time of day I’m often in and out of meetings with stakeholders from across the business, working with them to check whether they’re set to finish the month on budget, under budget or over budget. If I get some time at my desk I’ll spend it answering emails or dealing with phone queries.

End of the day, 17:00 to 18:00
Typically by now I’m finishing up my task list and ensuring I’m on track to meet daily deadlines. Month-ends are a particularly busy time in my department as we help our stakeholders calculate what’s been spent that month. Occasionally we’ll go for team drinks in the evening, or I’ll meet with my Business Partner peers.

My career at Barclays

I joined Barclays in January 2008. Since then I’ve been on a recruitment course which proved invaluable when I was recruiting to fill a Finance Analyst role earlier this year. I’ve also been on courses to understand more about Barclays in general.

How I started out

Prior to starting my current role I worked as a Finance Business Partner for a pharmaceutical company for three-and-a-half years. Before that I was on a graduate training scheme with Sainsbury’s, where I worked in the Finance department and completed my Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) qualification. I graduated in Accounting and Management from Aston University.